Department for Communities and Local Government

Parks

baroness whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the proposed scheme by Islington Council under which businesses will be able to sponsor local parks, whether they intend to encourage other local authorities to seek business sponsorship to protect the future of their parks.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Councils across the country are demonstrating that there are many ways to ensure great parks, and that there is no one size fits all solution. Local authorities are best placed to understand the needs and complexities of their communities use of their green spaces.The Government remains committed to working with local government and the parks sector to encourage the sharing of best practice so that councils and communities can continue to innovate and find local solutions which ensure the future of public parks.

Parish Councils: Greater London

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of some parts of London seeking to establish parish councils.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government encourages all communities wishing to establish a parish council to petition their local authority to that effect, regardless of where they live. We are aware of several such petitions in London and hope to see more communities in urban areas, both in London and elsewhere, represented by a local council as the people of Queens Park are.

Housing: Construction

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of homes that could be built on brownfield sites.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Up-to-date information on brownfield land that is suitable for housing is not currently available. Legislation to require local authorities to publish registers of brownfield land suitable for housing by 31st December 2017 will come into force on 16 April 2017.

Department for Education

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

lord cooper of windrush: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many students enrolled at universities in England are citizens of other EU countries.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students enrolled at UK higher education institutions (HEIs).The latest available statistics published by HESA refer to the 2015/16 academic year and, to the nearest five, show that there were 98,460 enrolments at English HEIs by students domiciled in other EU countries prior to their studies.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Leadership

the earl of dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible benefits of establishing standards of best practice for good leadership and psychological wellbeing for organisations across the UK.

lord prior of brampton: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a number of reports on Gov.uk, which complement the broader academic literature on the subject of leadership and wellbeing. These reports can be found on GOV.UK. Firstly, the report “Leadership and Management in the UK - the Key to Sustainable Growth” was published in 2012. This summarised the key evidence and set out the benefits of business investment in leadership and management skills. The research report “Does Worker Wellbeing Affect Workplace Performance?” was published in October 2014. The analysis suggested that well-being is also positively associated with workplace financial performance, labour productivity and the quality of output or service. Most recently, the research report, “Leadership and management skills in small and medium-sized businesses” was published in 2015. The research suggested that entrepreneurship skills and leadership skills were most consistently and strongly associated with good management practice and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. In many areas, existing industry supported standards play an important role for businesses in establishing an effective quality infrastructure to embed best practices and further enable productivity.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the People’s Republic of China concerning political developments in Hong Kong; and whether they have called for undertakings in the Basic Law to be honoured.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Government regularly discusses the importance of the principal of 'One Country, Two Systems' with the Chinese Government. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific discussed Hong Kong issues with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on 16 February and with the Secretary-General of the Central Commission for Politics and Law in London on 17 February. The Foreign Secretary also discussed Hong Kong with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 16 February.The Foreign Secretary's six-monthly report to the House published on 24 February (HCWS499), sets out the Government's latest assessment on developments in Hong Kong. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library of the House.

North Korea: British Nationals Abroad

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, including through the British Embassy in Pyongyang, to ensure that the government of North Korea does not breach the Vienna Convention; and what advice they are offering to British nationals in, and travelling to, North Korea regarding their safety, in the light of the temporary ban imposed on Malaysian diplomats from leaving the country.

baroness anelay of st johns: We expect any State who has signed and ratified the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to abide by its provisions.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office keeps travel advice under constant review and updates country specific advice if we are aware of an incident that might significantly affect British nationals travelling to that country. The purpose of our travel advice is to provide objective information and guidance to help British nationals make informed decisions regarding foreign travel. As our travel advice for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) states, we do not assess that the temporary restriction on Malaysian diplomats leaving the DPRK will affect the safety of British nationals travelling to DPRK.

UN Agencies

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many appointments to UN committees and agencies are held by representatives or citizens of the UK; and what are those positions.

baroness anelay of st johns: The UN only publishes broad statistical data about the nationality of its employees. As of 31 December 2016, there were 866 UK citizens employed by the UN Secretariat. The last published data covering the UN system including the Secretariat plus UN funds, programmes and specialised agencies dates back to 31 December 2012 and shows a total of 2454 UK citizens employed at the time.

UN Agencies

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to which UN committees and agencies they will nominate candidates in the coming year.

baroness anelay of st johns: Her Majesty's Government has nominated two candidates for UN appointments to be decided in the coming year. These are Dr David Nabarro standing for Director General at the World Health Organisation; and Sir Christopher Greenwood, standing for re-election as a judge at the International Courts of Justice.

Department for Transport

Utilities

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the level of co-operation between local authorities and utility companies to minimise disruption to the public when undertaking work.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Under sections 59 and 60 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, highway authorities have a general duty to co-ordinate all street and road works on their networks and undertakers have a general duty to use their best endeavours to co-operate with such actions. The Traffic Management Act 2004 also places a Network Management Duty on local highway authorities to manage roads effectively to keep traffic moving. We have not carried out a formal assessment, but although we consider that existing legislation is sufficient to enable effective co-operation to take place, it is clear that there is scope for reducing the impact on road users of works needed to deliver infrastructure and local services. To this end we are engaged in a project that is looking to improve the way that data is collected and shared, how we can use this data to co-ordinate activities on the highway more effectively, and how the data can be used to inform the public about planned and live works. To enable more proactive management of the local road network, the majority of highway authorities have introduced Permit Schemes, which enable the authority to stipulate conditions under which works can take place on the highway. We are currently undertaking an evaluation of permit schemes which concludes in November, and we expect the outcome to demonstrate that such schemes provide a clear reduction in works duration. We are keen for the remaining authorities to develop such schemes. We have also published statutory guidance entitled ‘Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters’. This can be found at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/street-works-co-ordination

Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many complaints about UAVs have been recorded by (1) the police, and (2) the aviation authorities, in each of the last three years.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The number of complaints about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is not collated across police forces. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) does not maintain a record of all complaints of drone misuse it has received, as in some cases, such as where advice was provided by telephone or where the complainant was referred to the police, records are not kept. Nevertheless, 213 complaints were recorded in 2014, 441 in 2015 and 291 in 2016. The Military Aviation Authority does not hold records of any complaints about UAVs. The Department for Transport, the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs Council and the CAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 17 May 2016 to identify the roles and responsibilities of the signatories with respect to the investigation and prosecution of drone offences. Under the Memorandum, it is for the Police Service to carry out an assessment of reports of drone misuse and to decide whether or not to investigate; it is for the CAA to investigate and prosecute breach of aerial work permissions or offences relating to aviation safety.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish proposals to regulate and control the use of UAVs, following the recent consultation by the Department for Transport.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government’s consultation on the safe use of drones in the UK closed on 15th March. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in the summer of this year.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of technical solutions to the enforcement around sensitive locations and sensitive events of no-fly zones relating to UAVs.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Across government there are a number of strands of work aimed at improving our defences against the potential misuse of drones, with a focus on sensitive and important locations and events; this includes consideration of solutions for technical enforcement. We are engaging directly with manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), academia and industry on technical solutions such as geo-fencing, and trials and demonstrations have already taken place to examine the applicability of technological options to detect and counter drones. Further trials and demonstrations will take place this year, with Government involvement being overseen by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.

Aviation: Compensation

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan for passenger rights to compensation for delay, cancellation, denied boarding and involuntary downgrading on air flights, as laid out in EU Regulation 261/2004, to be transposed in their entirety into UK law upon withdrawal from the EU.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including future arrangements for passenger rights. The Great Repeal Bill will provide a functioning statute book on the day the UK leaves the EU. In addition to repealing the European Communities Act, the Bill will convert EU law into UK law as it stands at the moment before we leave the EU; and create temporary powers to make secondary legislation. The Bill aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses as we leave the EU. The Department for Transport is working closely with consumers and industry to best understand their requirements.

Road Traffic

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether smartphone mapping apps are contributing to the rise of levels of pollution and traffic in residential areas; and if so, what action they plan to take.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government has not carried out an assessment of whether or not there is an impact from smartphones mapping apps on pollution and traffic in residential areas.